The social economy is a part of the national economy. Besides the public sector and market sector there is a third sector, for which various titles are being used (in the Czech Republic mostly Non-profit or Civil sector).
The social economy and civil sector are largely overlapping areas. The social economy and it's subjects are attracting the attention of research because they represent an alternative to state and market enterprises.
Subjects of the social economy are expected to address the problems of the social state or mitigate the effects of the current economic crisis and support the active social inclusion of at-risk groups of the population.